Houston government cuts harm families, thousands of jobs still on the line: NDP

HALIFAX – Wednesday, Official Opposition Leader Claudia Chender, with advocates from the disability community, called on the Houston government to answer for the harm their cuts have already caused and the cuts that remain in this budget.

While the Premier reversed some cruel cuts yesterday, many remain, with little clarity on whose funding has or hasn’t been restored. For weeks, the Premier and his Ministers haven’t been able to answer basic questions about this budget or the cruel cuts that will impact communities across the province.

“People understand that governing sometimes involves tough choices, but it’s unfair for this government to rack up a historic deficit with $6.7 billion dollars in out-of-budget spending and then tell vulnerable Nova Scotians that they somehow have to pay for it,” said Chender. “The PC government has signalled in this budget that anyone can find themselves on the chopping block. This is not how a responsible government makes decisions.”

Despite the Premier being shamed into walking back some of the cuts —thousands of Nova Scotians’ livelihoods and dignity are still on the line.

“People need to know how this government is making decisions. Nova Scotians shouldn’t be expected to trust a government who can't explain their choices and don’t do the work,” said Chender. “The cuts we saw them walk back yesterday were about the government protecting their own political self-interest– not doing what’s best for Nova Scotians.”

-30-